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building a small freezer supply??

How do i start building up a freezer supply so i can have some me time out of the house alone? I have a medela pisa and currently ebf. How often do i pump and when? Today marks one month of ebf for me!!! Yay, i made my first goal!! pumping a little wont mess things up will it?

Re: building a small freezer supply??

It might not mess things up if you go at it with some sense. If you go nuts, or you already have an oversupply, yes, it could be problematic.

Most moms find pumping just once a day in the morning, when they have the most milk, yields them a bit they can save. Or pick a time of day and pump at that time, or pump one side while nursing the other.

You won't need much. A baby usually only takes 1 to 1.5 oz per hour of separation.

Someone else should be the on trying with a bottle to make it less confusing for baby.

Re: building a small freezer supply??

pumping a little wont mess things up will it?

This is a great question! I have talked to lots of moms who are dealing with the aftermath of early introduction of bottles and pumping. So here are some things I have found actually can mess breastfeeding up. These are pitfalls you may want to try to avoid.

1) Mom gets messed up by pumping: Moms often don't get much output when they pump, and many then become convinced that this means they do not make enough milk. It doesn't! What you pump tells you almost nothing about your milk supply. The amount you pump, especially if you are exclusively breastfeeding, is going to usually be a very small amount. www.kellymom.com suggests that between .5 oz-2 oz per pumping session is "normal" or average. This goes hand in hand with the pitfall that baby may take much more from the bottle than they need, for any number of reasons, and that not only uses up all the expressed milk left for the baby sitter but causes moms again to be concerned they don't "make enough." Plus, pumping and washing all those parts is extra work for mom at a time when any extra work can be a hardship.

Also, some moms do experience nipple damage when pumping. If you have any pain while pumping, make sure your pump flange is the correct size, all parts are in good shape and connected correctly, and your motor is cycling correctly (older pumps can actually suction too hard sometimes & not enough other times.) I assume your pump and style is very new? If not, make sure it is not the lot recalled a year or so ago.

2) Baby gets messed up by bottle feeding. Nipple confusion and flow confusion is real, it happens, and it can be very detrimental to breastfeeding. Does every baby have this issue? No. Some can seem to go back and forth between bottle and breast without a hiccup. But the earlier bottles are introduced the more likely issues will occur. Nipple and flow confusion can cause poor latch, sore nipples, breast refusal, fussiness/crying/frustration at the breast. It can be a real headache for mom and no fun for baby either.

If you want to pump to have a 'just in case' freezer stash, I would suggest pumping whenever it is most convenient for you, and no more than once a day at first until you see how it goes for you. It might be best to pump shortly after baby nurses, but don't worry overmuch that baby will want to nurse right after you pump, as your body is always making milk & that is unlikely to be a big problem.

If you want to try to avoid the pitfalls of nipple confusion or flow confusion, you could consider training your baby sitter to cup feed baby as opposed to using a bottle. You could also have them try paced bottle feeding: http://www.llli.org/docs/00000000000...astfedbaby.pdf

All that said, I certainly agree with the previous poster that, in my experience, it was MUCH easier to just take baby along. Kids don't get much more portable than they are at this age. I took my infants to movies, restaurants, shopping ,friends houses, office parties, lectures, etc. If one of your concerns is nursing in public, I am sure you will get lots of suggestions here or at any LLL meeting for that.